Abstract

When Ed Lewis in my department won a Nobel Prize a few years ago, our chair organized a party. On my way there, I overheard an illustrious chemist offer, "Hey, at least one smart biologist," making his colleagues chuckle. Nothing new in academia, the land of the high-minded yet curiously parochial primate. Why bring this up? Because science starts with human interactions: if we want theory and experimental neuroscience to strengthen each other, we must hope for people with different cultures, expertise, perspectives and footwear to leave their prejudices at the door and learn to better appreciate each other's strengths.